Point mutation
mutation of a single gene / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A point mutation is a single base substitution.[1] It is the smallest type of mutation possible.
In a point mutation, either:
- a single base nucleotide is changed for another nucleotide of the genetic material (normally DNA),[2] or
- a single base pair is inserted or deleted.[3]
A nonsense mutation is a point mutation in a DNA sequence that leads to an early stop codon.[4] This appears as a nonsense codon in the transcribed mRNA. Most of the time, the protein that is translated from this mRNA does not work.